The Book Courtship Tag

Yes, that’s right, we’re really hotting up towards Valentine’s Day so I’m here to tell you of my one true love… books 😉 And it just so happens that I have the perfect tag for the occasion- that has for some reason taken me FOREVER to get round to (I’m talking years- so if any of you folks feel bad about not doing tags, look at my example and weep with relief 😉 ) Long overdue thanks to the fabulous Quirky Book Nerd, the amazing Analee@Book Snacks and the indomitable Vicky@Books and Strips!

Phase 1: Initial Attraction – A book you bought because of the cover?

I bought the entire Pledge series cos it was cheap and I loved the covers… and boy did I live to regret it!! The worst thing is the covers are sort of pretty- but I really don’t care for them much now. (Plus they’re on my kindle, so what difference does it make?!)

Phase 2: First Impressions – A book you got because of its summary?

Well I do this for most books- but I’d say I loved the summary of Vicious- the concept just sounded so cool- and boy was I right!!

Phase 3: Sweet Talk – A book with great writing?

Gonna go full on classic here and say The Great Gatsby– no one does tightly woven, flowery prose quite like Fitzgerald.

Phase 4: First Date – The first book of a series that made you want to pick up the rest of the series?

Ooh I could say a fair number of books for this- but I’d say Red Rising was a stonking good read and cos it was so good I ended up reading the series back to back #noregrets

Phase 5: Late Night Phone Calls – A book that kept you up all night?

Plenty of books have me reading into the late hours. One memorable book I stayed up all night to finish Court of Mist and Fury- which was kinda poetic considering the subject matter!

Phase 6: Always On My Mind – A book you could not stop thinking about?

Gosh- so many- I think I’m gonna go with Neverending Story- cos it ended up being surprisingly thought provoking.

Phase 7: Getting Physical – A book that you love the way it feels?

My copy of Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales:

Phase 8: Meeting The Parents – A book you would recommend to your family and friends?

Depends on the family member! I have to admit- I think the book I’ve recommended most often to friends is Picture of Dorian Gray cos it’s just a really universal book that everyone can enjoy.

Phase 9: Thinking About The Future – A book or series you know you will re-read many times in the future?

Great answers for this tag, and a very appropriate one given how close Valentine’s Day is now! 😀 Red Rising definitely made me want to pick up the rest of the series and binge read it (and I did). It’s such a brilliant book and oh I can’t wait to continue the series when book five is released. A Court of Mist and Fury is one that kept me up all night as well, definitely the best of the trilogy god it was just amazing.
Also I can’t say I picked up Vicious because of the summary (I likely picked it up because it was written by V.E. Schwab) but yep, definitely a great book as well. 🙂
Great post, and again great answers as well! 😀 ❤

Thank you!! 😀 Yeah I totally get that!! 😀 Ahh yes ACOMAF was awesome!! Fair enough- it was actually my first Schwab book and I read it before blogging, so I really didn’t know anything about it- so it was a lovely surprise 😀
Thank you!! 😀 ❤

Covers can be so alluring at times can’ they? Shining extra cool pictures on them that just entice you to buy it, no matter what. So far though…I have been lucky. I haven’t yet had a book that bought solely for the cover and that eventually turned out in something that I did not like. But with so many books in my possession that I still haven’t read yet…I wouldn’t be surprised if there is one that is lurking in between them lol 😂😂
Great post!

Love all your answers! I can’t remember the last time I bought an entire series because of its cover. One of them was the Enders Game saga, I bought the box set and it’s not a beautiful design, but I do love box sets!

Thank you!! hehe well that makes a lot of sense to be fair- I normally only buy boxsets for books I really like, so I understand. I only used to occasionally buy series I hadn’t read that were reduced on kindle to insanely cheap prices (and once in a while I’d cover buy them… I learnt my lesson and don’t anymore 😉 )

Oh my gosh, I love this tag! I hope I can fit it in this week. Loved your picks! The cover for The Neverending Story is mesmerizing and The Hobbit is a fave. I actually just finished it with my 9-year-old. ❤ Thanks so much for tagging me for this!! ❤ Happy Valentines Day! 😀

Great tag! I really need to get reading Red Rising I’ve only heard good things about it. I don’t know if I really regret any cover buys. Roll my eyes at myself sometimes afterward but never really regret 🙂

My fiance bought me the special edition version of Red Queen because I thought I was going to like it and I didn’t. I felt bad because it was the special edition and so pretty! But it ended up being a very plain story.

Thank you!! I really hope you like Red Rising! Well it’s a fun series, but I don’t blame you if you’re not interested to be fair, it’s pure entertainment and not too ground breaking (the characters are fun though!)

Not so much regret of “cover buying” as “cover borrowing” since I checked it out from the library, but I’d go with “How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe” by Charles Yu. The cover featuring dozens of retro sci-fi ray guns made it look fun and quirky, but the fun or interesting bits were drowned in a flood of some guy whining about his mommy and daddy issues.

What a fun tag and I loved seeing your answers! Oh my gosh, ACOMAF *sighs dreamily* ❤ I was up all night reading this one as well and it was SO worth it! Now I'm actually in the mood to reread it haha XD

I book cover buy with arcs sometimes. I don’t think about what the blurb really said (nothing) about the story and before you know it I’ve requested it and all due to the pretty cover and the nonsense blurb! Great answers 🙂

Hello!!
Love your answers to this tag 🙂 I heard lots of great things about Vicious and Red Rising- these are two books that I hope to read at one point in the future! I also really need to get to The Great Gatsby, which has been on my TBR for a while!

That was a great tag, done with fun and elegance! I am horrible at doing tags. As for cover failures none springs readily to mind which is to be expected since I don’t care much about covers. I appreciate a lovely cover but I don’t get a book just for it. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Neverending Story sounds great! I just added it to my TBR. And yeah, I totally get buying books by their cover, but not turning out to be so great…le sigh~ it’s happened to me before. (an understatement) Oh, and I totally agree that Dorian Gray is a universally enjoyable read, as well as The Hobbit! Both are books that I absolutely love, so love your answers. Awesome tag!

I need to get my hands on a copy of The Great Gatsby. I’ve been intrigued by the writing ever since I’ve first heard about its awesomeness! Oh and books will forever be the one and only true love! 100% agree 😀

I really like your answers! Do people buy books without looking at the summary at all? I mean, I get being enchanted by covers, but I still check if it’s a subject matter I like haha I guess the question was just there to have a nice progression of courtship phases.

Thank you so much! hehe well sometimes I see the cover think “wow”, and then read the blurb and think “yeah sounds alright”- it’s taken me a long time to realise it’s probably not worth picking it up based on that 😉 hehe true!!

Love Fitzgerald, hate that cover. I like the nineties scrawly amateurish illustration covers for Fitzgerald in the Penguin editions. They were nice, low-key, tranquil.
I wish I wasn’t influenced by book-covers. I’ve bought bad books and put off buying good ones, because of them.

ha, you broke out the lovey dovey tag for the VDay! 😀 Brilliant… thanks for tagging me, as well! 😉 ❤
The Picture of Dorian Gray has been on my radar over the past few weeks because I have been thinking about watching the movie… then again, I kind of think I should read the book first… hmm.. jave you seen the movie and if you have, any words of warnings? 🙂

tehehehe I did indeed 😉 You’re welcome! Oh awesome- glad it’s on your radar- but seriously I’ve heard nothing but bad things about the movie (I’m assuming we’re talking about the Colin Firth one) and have avoided it like the plague ever since I saw the trailer (and man, even there I could see how far off base it was) But the book is great and pretty short!

Didn’t really mistake covet buy anything YET, though it definitely might happen in the future, haha!
I relate to so many of your answers, too! There’s ACOMAF, The Great Gatsby, The Hobbit- faves everywhere! Great post 💕

It’s so hard to resist pretty covers!! And Vicious totally sounds awesome. (I can’t believe I haven’t read it yet??!) Red Rising was SO GOOD. I also have no regrets about reading that series back to back haha! Loved reading your answers! 😊

Oh man, you listed two on my loves! The Hobbit is such a fantastic novel, one that I really need to re-read! I also did a major paper on “Dorian” and it was such a spectacular and intriguing read – I still feel like I’ve never read anything like it before. And okay…I really need to read Sarah J. Maas’ books now…I just don’t want to start and have to wait for the sequels…yes, I’m childish that way ha-ha!
Thank you for the kind words! You’re very sweet 🙂 I’m glad you had fun with the tag! I loved your post! ❤

Ahh I’m glad!! So did I as a matter of fact 😉 hehe I totally get that- not childish at all! I do it all the time 😉 it makes sense, cos I hate waiting between books!
You’re very welcome!! And thank you! 😊💕